Leona Lewis
Spirit
Every once in a while, an artist comes along whose talent is so undeniable that it inspires everyone who encounters it. British singer and songwriter Leona Lewis is such an artist. Her striking beauty and soaring voice have already captivated fans in the U.K., where her debut Spirit entered the album chart at Number One and became Britain’s fastest-selling debut of all time. Spirit’s lead-off single “Bleeding Love” — co-written and produced by OneRepublic frontman Ryan “Alias” Tedder — claimed the Number One spot for seven weeks, and the album sold more than one million copies in the U.K. in just five weeks. And all this before the 22-year-old East London native has even made her official stateside debut.
If you haven’t heard of her yet, you surely will when Spirit is released by J Records/Syco on April 8th, 2008. A thrilling mix of epic balladry and sultry pop/R&B written and produced by an array of top-notch hit-makers, the album is a showcase for Lewis’ powerhouse voice, which has led the media to compare her to Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Céline Dion. (Warned Entertainment Weekly: “Divas, watch out!”)
“Those women are the true divas,” Lewis insists. “They’re amazing performers whom I’ve listened to for years. These are the people who’ve inspired me to sing, so it’s flattering that I’m being compared to them. But I have a lot of hard work to do first!”
Such disarming modesty is part of what has endeared Lewis to her fans, who watched her journey to stardom on television each week on The X Factor, a British talent show executive-produced by American Idol’s Simon Cowell, who is also a judge. She won the 2006 competition handily by belting out goosebump-inducing, note-perfect versions of “I Will Always Love You,” “All By Myself,” “Summertime,” and “Over the Rainbow” — the latter rendition of which stunned the notoriously critical Cowell into silence. He then declared it “the single best performance I have ever witnessed. I think she’s one of the best singers we’ve seen in this country for a long, long time.”
Knowing a superstar when he heard it, Cowell phoned legendary music business executive and J Records founder Clive Davis and told him: “You might have the next Whitney Houston on your hands.” For the first time, the two teamed up and signed Lewis to Syco, Cowell’s joint venture with Sony/BMG. “I was immediately knocked out by her range, her versatility, and the pure beauty of her voice,” says Davis. “She is an artist who will become a true star for many years to come.”
Davis and Cowell have made sure of it by introducing Lewis to an all-star roster of collaborators to bring out her best on Spirit, including Tedder (currently enjoying his own hit with the ubiquitous “Apologize”), singer/songwriter Ne-Yo (Rihanna, Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson), songwriters Josh Alexander and Billy Steinberg (Madonna, Whitney Houston, Céline Dion), and songwriter/producers Dallas Austin (Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Pink), Stargate (Rihanna, Beyoncé, Ne-Yo), J.R. Rotem (Britney Spears, Ashley Tisdale), and Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald (Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne).
“It was quite daunting at first to work with such well-known people,” Lewis admits, “but they gave me their full attention and really wanted to do their best. They were all really lovely and I learned something different from each one of them.”
For Lewis, making a solo album was the chance to realize a dream she’s had since the age of 5, when her parents enrolled her at London’s prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School. Lewis then attended the performing arts academy The BRIT School, where she honed her songwriting and production skills. Encouraged by winning several talent contests as a teen, she left school and took part-time jobs — including working in Pizza Hut as a waitress — to earn money to pay for studio time. “It was about doing my music,” she says. “It has always been my passion to be a singer and songwriter.”
In 2006, Lewis auditioned for The X Factor and won in a landslide on December 16th. Her first single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson’s debut single “A Moment Like This,” broke a world record when it was downloaded 50,000 times in 30 minutes and subsequently outsold the rest of the U.K.’s Top 40 singles combined. Leona Mania had taken hold of Britain.
Now Lewis hopes to do the same in the U.S., and judging by Spirit she will. With its elegant melodies, sophisticated beats, and flawless arrangements, the album is filled with “classic songs with a contemporary edge,” as Lewis puts it. From its affecting ballads (“Better in Time,” “I Will Be,” and “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” — a song that Roberta Flack made famous) to the soulful up-tempo numbers (“I’m You,” “The Best You Never Had,” and “Whatever It Takes,” which Lewis co-wrote), Spirit is a remarkable debut that announces Lewis as a major talent.
“I wanted to make an album that was totally me,” Lewis says. “Each song is about something that either I’ve gone through or that someone around me has gone through. The lyrics reflect things that I’m really passionate about. I have to be able to put myself in the song for it to ring true to me. If it doesn’t ring true to me, it’s not going to be believable to anyone else.”
Indeed Lewis’ passion for singing comes through loud and clear. “My love for music is my main motivation as an artist,” she says. “I’ve found that you can help so many people with your songs. I’ve received a lot of letters from people saying that “Bleeding Love” really helped them. I think if you can do that, it makes it all worth it.”
(December 2007)
